After being gutted by the break up of a partnership with Russia’s Uralkali, BPC moved quickly to rebuild

In July 2013, Elena Kudryavets stepped off a plane in São Paulo and was called by a colleague with news: their Russian trading associates had just ended a partnership that controlled over a third of the global market potash—a key fertilizer.

The decision by Russian miner Uralkali JSC to exit its partnership with Ms. Kudryavets’ Belarusian Potash Company ended a cartel system that had, along with a North American trading group, effectively controlled prices in the $20 billion plus market. Uralkali’s departure prompted potash...